This invention relates to a fabric wall panel system for use in decorating, and more particularly, relates to a fabric wall panel system having fabric wall panels which are removably mounted to a wall so that the seams between the fabric wall panels are uniform and fit tightly.
Fabric wall panels are used to decorate the interior space in many buildings. Fabric coverings for the panels are available in numerous textures and patterns which can be coordinated with the furnishings and carpets in a room. These fabric wall panels can be customized to meet the decorating needs of various locations and decorating tastes.
Besides decorating versatility, fabric wall panels provide other desirable features. Such features include sound and heat insulation. Particularly, in large rooms such as auditoriums and theaters, fabric wall panels may include a layer of acoustical material hidden behind the fabrics which modifies the acoustical character of the room. In addition, heat insulating material may be mounted behind the fabrics to enhance heat transfer properties of a wall.
A substantial costs involved in fabric panels is the cost of installation. Moreover, if the fabric becomes worn or the decorating scheme changes, the need may arise to change the fabric panels. Consequently, the method of mounting and/or changing the fabric wall panels becomes an important consideration when fabric wall panels are selected for a building project.
Another consideration in the selection and use of fabric wall panels is assuring a quality installation. Particularly, the wall panels should line up uniformly with each other, and the seams between adjacent wall panels should be tight and uniform. With most fabric wall panel systems, quality of installation including alignment and uniformity of seams depends on the skill of the installer.
Some prior fabric wall panels are installed in situ. For example, as disclosed in Baslow U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,260, border pieces of a panel are permanently attached to the wall to form a framework for mounting a fabric sheet. The fabric sheet completely covers the wall without being adhered to the wall itself. The linear border pieces include a key way into which the fabric is forced by means of a compressible spline. The linear border pieces also include a storage channel, which allows the border pieces to create a finished look at the edges. The Baslow patent does not disclose a method of fabric wall panel prefabrication or removable attachment. The uniformity of installation depends on the skill of the installer in terms of aligning the framework and forcing the fabric into the key way so that the fabric is uniformly stretched on the framework.
In addition, fabric wall panels can be prefabricated. One method for installing prefabricated fabric wall panels employs a cross-nailing system as disclosed by the patent to Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,972. The fabric wall panels disclosed in the Anderson patent are prefabricated and then installed by driving two headless pin nails at an angle in a crossed fashion through the frame pieces of the prefabricated panels. The crossed nails penetrate completely through the fabric, partially penetrate the frame, and securely fasten the panel to the wall. A fabric wall panel attached using this cross-nailing method cannot be easily removed from the wall if one should desire to replace panels or remove the panels entirely.
One successful removable wall panel system is disclosed in Anderson U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,638. In that patent, the fabric wall panels are mounted on the wall by means of hangers. Each frame member of each wall panel has a spine with an elongated slit, a side edge, and a front edge which together define a groove. A flat filler insert is fitted within the groove of each frame member. Fabric is stretched over the frame and flat filler insert and is bonded to the back of the spine of each frame member to complete the finished fabric wall panel. The hanger has a flat base and a perpendicularly extending tongue with an enlarged head. A number of hangers are affixed on the wall using an adhesive. The slit on the frame of the fabric wall panel is aligned with the tongue of hanger on the wall, and the fabric wall panel is affixed to the wall by pressing the slit over the tongue on the hanger. The fabric wall panels can be prefabricated or installed in situ. The fabric wall panels can also be independently replaced or removed entirely by unsnapping the fabric wall panel from the supporting hangers.
While the disclosed fabric wall panel system has been successful, several improvements are needed. First, because the spacing between panels depends on the thickness of the fabric replacing a thick fabric with a thinner fabric can result in open mid-wall seams between panels. Second, the underlying frame of the fabric panels sometimes show through under the stretched fabric. Third, gluing the fabric to the frame can make removal of the fabric difficult when the fabric on the panel is changed.
The prior art has thus failed to disclose a removable fabric wall panel system in which the mid-wall seams are uniform and tightly fitting, the underlying frame for the wall panels does not show through the fabric, and the fabric attachment to the panel frame does not depend entirely on glue.
The present invention satisfies the above-described needs with a fabric wall panel system and method for installing fabric wall panels on a wall. The fabric wall panels comprise a frame, a flat filler, and a fabric stretched over the flat filler and around the edges of the frame. The fabric wall panels are removably mounted on the wall by means of a hanger.
The frame of the fabric panel comprises a plurality of linear frame members. Each frame member has a flat spine, an outside web, an inside web, and a front web. Together the outside web, the inside web, and the front web form a hollow channel along the edge of the frame member. The hollow channel has an opening opposite the front web of the frame member which offers access to the inside of the hollow channel. The outside web and the inside web of the frame member each have a protrusion that extends into the channel to engage the hanger and hold the fabric wall panel in place on the wall.
The hanger comprises a flat base with two forked tongues extend perpendicularly therefrom. The base of the hanger is affixed to the wall with an adhesive or other suitable fastening means, and the forked tongues project outward from the wall. Each forked tongue has two forks that diverge from each other as they extend away from the flat base. Each fork has of cam surface and a latch surface. The material of the hanger is resilient so that the forks at their outward ends can be pressed together. The forked tongues of the hanger are aligned with and forced into the opening of the hollow channel of the frame member. The cam surfaces of the forks engage the protrusions within the hollow channel, and the forks are thereby forced together. When the frame member is fully seated onto the flat base of the hanger, the latch surfaces of the forks engage the protrusions within the hollow channel to hold the frame member securely to the hanger and thus to the wall. The fabric wall panels can be removed from the hangers by prying the frame away from the hanger to disengage the latch surfaces of the forks from the protrusions within the hollow channel of the frame members.
When the fabric is wrapped around the frame, the excess fabric is inserted into the opening of the hollow channel. Consequently, when the frame is pressed onto the hangers, the forks within the hollow channel engage the fabric and lock it between the latch surface of the fork and the protrusion within the hollow channel. Consequently, in some applications, the necessity of gluing the fabric to frame is eliminated.
The hanger of the present invention with its forked tongues assures proper spacing between the adjacent fabric wall panels mounted on the hanger. Consequently, frame members of adjacent wall panels are secured together to reduce the visibility of the seam between the adjacent wall panels and to ensure a uniform width for the seam between adjacent wall panels. In that regard, the outside web of the frame member has an angled portion near its front edge. The angled portion extends toward the adjacent wall panel thereby assuring that the adjacent panels are held tightly together in order to disguise the presence of the seam between them.
The hanger also has an index mark on the spine. The index mark is centered between the two tongues and runs the length of the hanger. The index mark serves as a guide for cutting the hanger in half along its length. Once the hanger has been cut in half along its length, the resulting half hanger has a single tongue and used for installation of the fabric wall panels adjacent a corner next to an adjoining wall.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the inside web of the frame member is shorter than the outside web of the frame member so that the front web of the frame member slopes inwardly and toward the base. Such a construction is used so that the edge between the front web and the inside web of the frame member does not show through on the front of the fabric wall panel.
In other embodiments of present invention, the front web of the frame member variously has a radius profile, a beveled profile, and a chamfered profile.